Process for making fabrics from fibrous plants.



J. s. GILLIES. PROCESS FOR MAKING FABRICS FROM FIBROUS PLANTS.

APPLICATION FILED UB0. 23, 1912 1096,709. Pa ented May 12, 1914.

JOHN S. GILLIES, F MANILA, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

PBOGES$ FOR MAKING FABRICS, FROM FIBROUS PLANTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application tiled December 28, 1912. Serial No. 739,129.

To a whom it: may concern Be it known. that I, Jenn 8. Gimme, a citizen ot the United States, resid1ng at Ma nila, Philippine lslantls,,have invented ccrtain new and useful Improvements in Processes for Making Fabrics from Fibrous Plants; and I do hereby declare the follow ing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to tbomanufacture of fabrics from the strands of fibrous plants, especially plants of the genus Muse, viz. the abaca plant, and has for its purpose a to produce a fabric by uniting the fibers or closed and.

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strands in transverse layers as distinct from weaving said fibers or strands; and it is further proposed to incorporate in the fab rics so made a filling'of rubber, or other similar substance, whereby to obtain a We tor-proof fabric which-will serve the purpose of heavy canvas.

To these ends the invention consists. in the novel steps constitutlhg my process as well as in the improved resultant roduct, all as Will bemore fully hereinai ter disparticularly pointed out in the claim.

In carrying out the process the sheen leaves are'initially treated by a process disclosed in my co-pending application, Serial Number 739,128, executed y me'of even date herewith and entitled Method of and apparatus for uniting the fibers of fibrous plants; wherein said abaca leaf sections have removed from the body ortions thereof all extraneous matter and caving the fibrous strands in an exposed and separated condition, and by a further step the end portions of said leaf sections are cleaned to leave the strands thereof in a )artially exposed and separated condition. her a further detailed description of this process, reference may be had to my application above identified. The required number of abaca leaf sections or strips treated in the manner stated are arranged in transversely crossing layers after the manner illustrated in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawing, and the number of said strips or shoes leaf sections will be dependent upon the dimensions of the fabric to be made. A layer of adhesive, preferably cement, is interposed between the crossing sections and then said sections are subjected Patented May 12, .ilt'i M.

to pressure b any suitable ap aaratus and thereafter le to solidify or liardcn. In this manner the entire fabric is built up and the resultant product will be found to have all of the qualities of fabrics heretofore made of this material wherein the ,fibers thereof are united by the weaving procc and the present process may be further-mo. t carried out more economically.

To the end thata fabric produced may serve in place of heavy canvas, the resent invention proposes to incorporate in t 0 fallric and in the process of making a filling of rubber, or other like gum, and which in the pressure step of the process is caused to unite intimately with the interstices formed by the crossing strands of the strips, as will be evident.

A step in the process for making the fab ric'is shown diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing wherein Fig. l is a, top lan view showing two strips disposed to e united; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view thereof; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view showing the corresponding step when a filling of rubber is incorporated, and Fig. 4 is a top plan view showing a plurality of strand strips interlapped or united in the form of a fabric.

.l and 2 designate the crossed strips of abaca leaf sections whose fibers have" been cleaned and separated in the manner stated, and whose end portions 3 and 4 respec tively are cleaned and have the fibrous strands thereof partially exposed. By reason of this last mentioned provision, the strands of the body portion of the strips are held in their normal and relatively true relation, the reason for which will be apparcut. A layer 5 of cement of any suitable kind is interposed between the strands 1 and 2 of the strips as indicated in Fig. 2, and the three layers, 2'. 6., the strands 1 and 2, and cement 5 are united by compression. In this mannerthe re uired number of transversely arranged strips are united for the manufacture of the fabric of the required dimensions.

In the modified construction shown in Fig. 3. the steps of procedure are the same sheet of water-prooffalbric which, as statmi, will serve as a substitute for the present used heavy oanvas.- Fig. 4 illustrates the method of uniting a plurality of strips or strands by interlapping the same. Ehis ar" rangement-ji's' particularly adapted when it is desired tomakea fabric for use as rubber belting, "rubber clothing, tarpaulins, and linoleum, III-making up such fabrics it is proposed to first place a sheet of Woven cleth, preferahly of abace fiber, then covetthef'sa ne with st sheet made of interlappecl sections, as shown in Fig. 4, and the whole is then, covered by another layer of Woven cloth, when theyare all joinecl together by an adhesive preferably containing rubber; er the same may be sewn together.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of the process Without leper-ting from the spirit of my invention,

. and therefore I do not Wish to be limited to the above disclosure, except as may he required by the claim,

What I claim is The process of producing lehyics from the fibrous strands of leaves of plants of the genus Muse which consists in stripping sections of said leaves intermediate the ends thereof to expose and separate the fiber strands, and treating the emls of said sec tions to partially expese and separate said strands; disposing said strippeci sections into transversely grossing layers; and uniting' said layers under pressure with an intermediate layer of adhesive, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I aiiir; my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

JOlzlN S. (HLLIEER "Witnesses Gxmeomo Fesmmmsz,

M. SERARCEY. 

